By Satyanarayana Dasa: I have never met anybody in my life who was fully satisfied with his or her situation, environment, condition, position, relations, health, wealth, or possessions. The poor are hankering to be rich, and the rich want to be richer. An overweight person wants to lose weight, and a thin person wants to gain a few pounds.

By Bruce Martin: The Vedic seers investigated and delineated the methods by which attention is shifted from the ephemeral and temporal to the real and eternal. Although different methods were devised for people of different temperament, the common thread running through them is higher order integration of self into an ever more encompassing Reality.

By Satyanarayana Dasa: It is ironic that even while life is full of uncertainties, we continually try to plan for it and figure out how to lead “successful” lives. Death, on the other hand, is absolutely certain, but we tend to avoid thinking about it, let alone planning for it. We even avoid the word “death” using phrases such as “kicked the bucket,” “passed away,” “departed,” or “ascended to heaven,” instead of simply saying someone has died.